De-Cluttering

So, in six weeks I finish work and will be at home until 4th January 2011! I was originally only going to take six months leave but having worked out the money angle I decided to take nine months (with DH's full support) as we'll be no worse off months 6 - 9 if I work or I stay at home.

I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that I only have six more weeks to work THIS YEAR and I'm still going to get paid for the rest of it LOL. However, I am determined to reduce my stash intake significantly this year in all areas. So stitching, quilting, reading, toys, gadgets, general stuff that I just buy cos I like it, cute kids clothes, colouring books for Lia (seriously I have about 50 stored away!) and so on and so on, all will take a significant cut in 2010.

Right now I'm on a de-cluttering mission. It's going to have to be slow and steady but I'm determined that things will be sold/donated/trashed rather than left in boxes in the loft and garage. We have boxes we haven't touched since we moved two years ago which rather suggests that most of it is unnecessary to us continuing to live full and happy lives.

I've piled all my unread books into one place and I am picking them out one at a time, reading them and then getting rid of them - either by giving to friends or donating to charity. Okay, I'm only on book two out of about 150 but I will not go into a book shop and buy more. For definite. I have a £10 book token in my purse from Christmas that I will use if I absolutely can't cope without getting a couple of new books but other than that I will not go into a book shop! It's ridiculous that I have so many unread books - everything I own I bought because I really wanted to read it so I should actually get on and do just that.

Quilting and stitching stash will be a bit harder as I have some commitments to BOMs and stitched series but other than those I am determined to be good. Just as I bought every book because I really wanted to read it I bought every project or piece of fabric because I really wanted to stitch it so I really need to get on with doing just that.

It's not going to be easy - I can be a real spendthrift - but less money coming in and significantly less time available to me mean I'm determined to get my head into gear and try. I'm sure the longer I manage to get on with it the better I'll feel and the easier it'll be. DH is fantastic, he absolutely never nags me about my stash (although to be fair he probably doesn't realise just how extensive it is LOL) and he says that he doesn't mind because he sees me using it every day. However, what I am seriously determined to fight is the tide of things that arrive in the post that more than replace what I'm using up!

So, watch this space. I'm hoping to have lots and lots of things to post over the next two months as it's my last free time for a while. I'm also keeping a log of all the comes in and all that gets finished and goes out so I'm hoping that later in the year when I review things I can be proud of my achievements.

At least one thing is guaranteed to reduce - we kept all of the baby/toddler stuff from when Lia arrived and, because this is definitely the last addition to our family, we can use and remove it all now. No re-storing anything. In fact, because we know this is a boy we have already cleared out six bin bags full of saved girls clothes and passed them on to other family members. Admittedly we have inherited a whole bunch of boy stuff from others too but at least it'll be used and then passed on again.

Have I convinced you guys? Well all I have to do is keep on trying to convince me too LOL

AWOL

Apologies, I yet again let time pass without popping in here to say hi.

All is okay, in fact, better than okay. I now have less than 10 weeks to go till Junior arrives - I do have an official 'too posh to push' date now but I'm not sharing because I'd rather announce his arrival than have everyone knowing it is just about to happen - and my consultants are extremely happy with my progress.

I guess everyone pretty much knows that diabetic mothers have big babies but the truth is a little less cut and dried than that. If you are diabetic you have the potential to have a big baby and you also are at a higher risk of pretty much every complication there can be from miscarriage to still birth and all the defects in between but, and it's an important but, if you keep your blood sugars as perfect as possible you will have as normal a pregnancy as a non-diabetic woman, risk levels are no different.

So it doesn't take a genius to work out that it is entirely the mother's responsibility to control her blood sugars as well as she can. Not just because you don't want to have to get a 19lb baby out but because the higher your blood sugar at birth the more dangerous it is for the baby. Very simply this is because if the mother's blood sugar is high and her blood is being transferred to the baby then the baby will over produce insulin to combat the additional sugar. Once baby is out there is no high sugar level but there is still an over-production of insulin so the baby's blood sugar will drop significantly and quickly causing serious problems. The over production of insulin is what causes the baby to get fat too.

So there endeth todays medical lesson LOL. Very simply, the more normal my blood sugar the better for my child and my sugars are pretty much spot on perfect. I also have a fantastic medical team supporting me - a dedicated diabetic specialist midwife, a dedicated diabetic consultant and a dedicated diabetic specialist obstetrician - and I have been seeing them every three weeks throughout the pregnancy so far. After I get to 32 weeks I'll see them every two weeks up until the birth.

I was in the same medical position when I was pregnant with Lia and she weighed in at 7lb 15oz (3.6kg) and was absolutely perfect, I'm thinking I'm not going to get junior in under 8lb but I'm hoping for not much over. At the moment he's exactly on the 50th centile of the growth scale which is fantastic.

It certainly makes me glad how medical science has progressed because as little as fifty years ago diabetic women were routinely sterilised because it was too dangerous for them to become pregnant...

On a lighter note, we're just starting to get the room ready for the baby. We have a plumber coming a week tomorrow to move the radiator in his room and then we can paint and get the new carpet down. We pretty much have all the furniture we need but I need to see it all arranged in the room with everything in its place so I can be sure we have all we need.

Lia is still extremely excited at the prospect of a baby brother and is very keen to help with all the organising. She's also still enjoying school and seems to be thriving. She was the 'star of the week' in her class last week which meant she got a certificate from the Head teacher - she got hers for making a big effort to listen to everybody for the whole week. It's caused a lot of fun in our family as she's now officially the first female on both sides that can produce documented evidence of her ability to listen LOL.

On the crafting front I have been sewing up a storm, I finished my Michael Powell mini design and am over half way through Spooky Spots by Shepherd's Bush. I've been getting my money's worth from the sewing machine too. I will definitely be taking pictures this weekend so will bore you all with them next week

Have a good weekend everyone

Snow!!!!

Firstly, a Happy New Year to you all. I apologise it's a late greeting but hey, better late than never right?

The Family V had a great festive season - Lia was spoiled rotten by Santa but is just a bit too small to understand she needed to make the most of her last christmas as an only child LOL. It shows what a terrible Mum I am that when asked what her favourite present was she will tell you 'sweeties!' Sure, not the bike or the Barbie or anything that cost more than £1, just all the sweets and chocolate she doesn't normally get...

We spent Christmas with my family (my sister and BIL were fantastic hosts as always) and it was nice to be spoiled a bit. Being six months pregnant meant nobody expected me to do anything so I got extra brownie points when I did help out. It was also nice to catch up with the other kids in the family, Lia has three cousins, all younger, and she loves them to bits. The oldest one is now two and a half and a right little chatterbox - her and Lia together really are hard on the ears! My bro's little boy is now 13 months old and running around, he's a real delight and it'll be great when I give him a boy cousin to play with as the others are all girls. The youngest is only a few weeks old but that just meant I got in some baby cuddles too.

We spent New Years at home but with friends round - Lia had her first friend on a sleep over so sleep for me was short. We got to bed around 1.30am and, despite being awake until nearly 11pm, the girls were awake at 6.30am! I was the only one of the three parents left in the house that wasn't hung over (the other dad sensibly headed home around 1am to get a decent kip in his empty house) so I got to be the responsible adult whilst DH and the other Mum suffered.

As for me, I'm fine. Only around 12 weeks to go now, I can't believe how time is flying! To answer Kathy's question yes we do know the sex and it's a boy this time. Lia is so excited and keeps telling me how she was right all along and I was wrong (she was so adamant that she wanted a baby brother that I spent the first 20 weeks trying to convince her it could be a sister just to avoid disappointment).

Health wise I'm doing great - the diabetes makes pregnancy interesting to say the least but, just as I managed with Lia, I'm doing pretty much text book perfect at the moment so I'm getting great reports every time I see my consultant. It'll be another six weeks or so before we start talking birth options though and I know that it's pretty much an elective caesarian or nothing but until it's actually agreed I'm trying not to think about it too much.

So anyway, on to the snow mentioned in the title of this post. We in the UK have been in the grip of a major cold snap for the last week and where we are we had over 12 inches of the white stuff in approx 12 hours a few days ago. I only remember one or two winters as a kid where I saw as much snow as we have now, we've actually been snowed in for three days!

Lia's school has been closed for the last three days and I have not even considered venturing the 20 miles to work. At six months pregnant and being insulin dependent I don't think I should be risking getting stuck anywhere. I did walk to the hospital yesterday for an appointment - it took just over half an hour to get there and I lost count of the number of times I nearly fell as the pavements are just blocks of ice. Thankfully I got there with no mishaps (DH was with me to make sure I was okay) and the route home was a bit less slippy.

So here's some pics of the snow and Lia and her Daddy building a snowman

An arty shot taken about 11pm after six hours of constant snow fall

The garden first thing in the morning after several more hours of snow

The beginning of a snowman...

Can you tell what it is yet?

Getting there...

Where's Daddy?

Here he is!

Yes I do pose for the camera a lot...

Snow wouldn't melt

The three of us!

WIP List as of 01/01/10

Current Stitching WIP List

1. Bent Creek - Snapperbets
2. Dimensions - Sleigh Ride
3. Bothy Threads - Row of Christmas Fairies
4. Margaret Sherry - Santa's Journey Afghan
5. Dimenions - Noah's Ark Quilt
6. Michael Powell - Mini Chapel
7. Glendon Place - Murky Manor
8. Tournicoton - Coeur de Brodeuse
9. The Cat's Whiskers - Birds of a Feather Dilly Bag
10. Michael Powell - Cottage Garden 2
11. Just Nan - Four Wishes
12. Bent Creek - Snapperville Series
13. Ink Circles - Cirque des Cercles
14. Michael Powell - Handmade Houses 4
15. Stoney Creek - Noah's Sub
16. Shepherd's Bush - Be Attitudes Afghan
17. Dragon Dreams - Dragon Virtues Afghan
18. Bothy Threads - Cut Thru Fairy Hill
19. Lizzie*Kate - ABC Lessons
20. Lizzie*Kate - Christmas by the Letter
21. Stitching Kitty - Snowman Trio
22. DMC - Wild Ones Alphabet
23. Midsummer Night Designs - Heaven Above
24. Anchor - Baby Sampler

Current Quilting / Sewing WIP List

1. Baby Jane quilt
2. Tail Feathers quilt
3. Lia's flannel quilt
4. Baby's Slash and Sew quilt
5. Baby's Alphabuddies quilt
6. Baby's Second Steps quilt
7. Silly Safari quilt
8. Raggedy pram quilt
9. Baby quilt for Great Niece
10. Winnie the Pooh book
11. 2 x Christmas Stockings
12. Blue Christmas Quilt
13. Red Christmas Quilt
14. Jelly Roll Quilt
15. ABC Christmas Panel
16. Santa Christmas Panel
17. Table Topper
18. Plaid Quilt
19. Bag for Mum

Items needing finishing

1. Sue Hawkins Pin Cushion
2. Boo In the Tin
3. Hop In the Tin
4. Scream House

January Goals

So, here's the updated 'to do before the baby comes' list. Anything in italics has been worked on since the list was compiled. Anything finished is crossed off.

For the Baby

1. Silly Safari Quilt - blocks and border all made, it just needs to be put together and quilted
2. Alphabuddies quilt - quilt top made
   
3. Slash and sew baby quilt - quilt top made
   
4. Raggedy pram quilt - not started
5. Stitched Noah's Ark baby quilt - lots of progress made
   

Christmas Gifts

1. Bag for my MIL
2. New Baby Sampler - for my Great Niece, promised by Christmas
3. Baby Quilt - for my Great Niece as a Christmas gift
4. Winnie the Pooh quilted book - Christmas gift for my nephew, cut out
5. Sue Hawkins book marker for teacher gift
   
6. Sue Hawkins book marker for teacher gift
7. Sue Hawkins book marker for my god daughter
   

To be done for Christmas

1. Christmas Stocking - binding done on top
   
2. Christmas Stocking - binding done on top
   
3. Advent panel - not started
4. Advent panel - not started
5. Blue christmas quilt - started
6. Red christmas quilt - started
   
7. Christmas panel 1 - started last year, needs finishing off
8. Christmas panel 2 - started last year, needs finishing off

For Stash Reduction

1. Scream House - all the stitching done
2. Plaid quilt - two blocks made
3. Bag - a birthday present for my Mum last August
   
4. Grandma's thread minder
5. Jingle In the Tin
6. Boo In the Tin - stitching all done
7. Hop In the Tin - stitching all done
8. Sue Hawkins pin cushion - stitching all done
9. Flannel quilt for Lia - top made, layering and quilting to do
10. Table topper - it's done other than finishing the quilting and sewing some binding